Sergio Garcia has revealed what he keeps telling people about LIV Golf after the Spaniard secured his first individual title on the tour at Valderrama on Sunday.
Sergio Garcia played his part in making Sunday a historic day for Spanish sport, capitalising on a dramatic mistake from Anirban Lahiri on his final green to then win in a play-off at LIV Golf Andalucia.
The 44-year-old went into the final day seven shots behind Lahiri in the individual standings, but given Garcia’s track record around Valderrama – a course he has won three times at previously – there was a sense of inevitability once he started to close in on Lahiri.
Lahiri missed a short putt on the 18th to seal victory for both him individually and his Crushers GC side in the team event. And that meant a double play-off, with Garcia taking down Lahiri in the individual play-off on the second extra hole.
Sergio Garcia shares what he tells many about LIV Golf
Remarkably, it was Garcia’s first individual win since moving to LIV Golf, with the 2017 Masters champion losing three play-offs previously. And speaking in his press conference after, Garcia shared how tough it has been to get across the line.
“It’s very important, it’s obviously huge. I keep telling everyone how difficult it is to win out here. At the beginning, everyone thought that we’ll all retire here and there’s no competition or anything like that. It’s so hard to win out here,” he said.
“These guys, they practice so much, I’m practicing more than I ever did before at 44, because if I don’t, I feel like I’m going to get stuck behind. It’s really amazing to be able to do it, in your home country, in front of my family, in front of so many friends and on my favourite golf course, so it’s obviously super nice.”
Spaniard regularly competing with many of the world’s best
There were definitely plenty who suspected that LIV would prove to be a place for those reaching the end of their careers at the highest level, with some real greats making the jump in the early stages.
But with players such as Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Joaquin Niemann also plying their trade on LIV, there is no question that there are a number of world-class players in the field.
Garcia has continued to compete at a very high level, and it would be no surprise if there were several more victories to come now he has secured the first.
But he will be more than aware of how hard he will need to work to get them.
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